4570 replies to this topic

[Rob Randall]

The TSX is better today than it was in December 2018.

 

I understand the dire economic reality has hit us all hard but I still don't get how Worksafe got itself into such a bind.

Edited by Rob Randall, 24 May 2020 - 06:54 AM.

[Mike K.]

I mean even Canopy is soaring in recent days. Canopy!

[Sparky]

What I would like to know is WHY does Worksafe have so much of a surplus?

Could it be that employers are paying WAY too much in premiums?

[Victoria Watcher]

What I would like to know is WHY does Worksafe have so much of a surplus?

Could it be that employers are paying WAY too much in premiums?

 

yes the article states they have lofty annual surplus goals.

[Casual Kev]

Apparently, making social distancing arrangements so the homeless can camp in a city park then giving them free hotel rooms is just an amalgam of NIMBYism and colonialism. Go figure.

 

“Recently a news article proposed that post-pandemic, we not forget the homeless, suggesting that for a moment, we remembered or cared.

In reality, what we did was respond to our own discomfort and guilt. Topaz was an eyesore for Not In My Back Yard-ers; it reminded us that society and the systems upon which it is established are not developed for the greater good, but intentionally disenfranchise people who are made to endure high-risk conditions and then blamed campers and presumed guilt of any problems that arose.

In an effort to remedy our own discomfort, we neglected to really demonstrate that we could be in this together, because we never were. If our purpose was to end homelessness, there never would have been a public-safety order to evict three tent cities.

 

(continued)“

 

 

https://www.timescol...ons-1.24140258?

[spanky123]

The TSX is better today than it was in December 2018.

 

I understand the dire economic reality has hit us all hard but I still don't get how Worksafe got itself into such a bind.

 

The same way ALL of the public pension funds have got themselves into trouble. In order to meet their payment obligations with an aging and longer living workforce, most pensions need a return of 8%+ a year. That has not been achievable over the past decade with traditional investment strategies so the funds have been taken on ever increasing amounts of risk. They have been investing in startups, providing money to unproven hedge fund managers and taking positions in emerging markets that would never have been considered a decade ago. That strategy has worked to some extent so other Government funds have tagged along in recent years.

 

Although the TSX is back to its dip in 2018, riskier assets have taken a beaten and have not recovered. WCB is the first of what will be many groups. Most are simply hoping for the moment that their assets recover. 

Edited by spanky123, 24 May 2020 - 01:10 PM.

[Jason-L]

What I would like to know is WHY does Worksafe have so much of a surplus?

Could it be that employers are paying WAY too much in premiums?

 

More likely that operating with a surplus is supposed to let them absorb the shocks to the systems of a year with greater than expect claims.  Otherwise, a year were people file more claims than expected would require them to borrow to cover and thus start the cycle of debt.
 

[Victoria Watcher]

‘Depression-era’ unemployment figures could hit Greater Victoria

South Island Prosperity Project launches new dashboard to measure effects of COVID-19

 

https://www.vicnews....eater-victoria/

 

Greater Victoria could hit “depression-era” unemployment numbers in the coming months according to a new report from the South Island Prosperity Partnership.

 

For the first time, the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) created a dashboard to help measure how Greater Victoria’s economy is doing as businesses and residents deal with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

dashboard:   https://southislandp...very-dashboard/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 May 2020 - 04:54 PM.

[VIResident]

Tofino drops taxes by 19%, abandoning planned 10% increase. https://www.westerly...ue-to-covid-19/

[Victoria Watcher]

In the new downtown future, devoid of office workers, every day could be Sunday The rush to working from home has dramatically drained the money-fuelled downtown life of the people who once needed to be there every day: office workers

https://nationalpost...could-be-sunday

[spanky123]

In the new downtown future, devoid of office workers, every day could be Sunday The rush to working from home has dramatically drained the money-fuelled downtown life of the people who once needed to be there every day: office workers

https://nationalpost...could-be-sunday

 

 

I think that there is a lot of wishful thinking here. My bet is that once we have a vaccine or the majority of people start to realize this isn't as big an issue as they have been told, we will see a broad return to normal.

 

If I am wrong and working remotely becomes the norm then I would be careful what I wish for. We have an economy were workers are generally viewed as less productive then many of their national/international counterparts and if that is the case then what is the difference between having a remote Victoria worker and a remote one in a less expensive, more productive market?

[tanker]

I think that there is a lot of wishful thinking here. My bet is that once we have a vaccine or the majority of people start to realize this isn't as big an issue as they have been told, we will see a broad return to normal.

 

If I am wrong and working remotely becomes the norm then I would be careful what I wish for. We have an economy were workers are generally viewed as less productive then many of their national/international counterparts and if that is the case then what is the difference between having a remote Victoria worker and a remote one in a less expensive, more productive market?

 

Depends on the type of work. We're pretty cheap on the IT side of things but still speak english.

[Victoria Watcher]

Statistics Canada, meanwhile, has announced that gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 8.2 per cent in the first three months of 2020 — the worst quarterly showing since 2009 — even though efforts to contain the novel coronavirus by shuttering businesses and schools didn't begin in earnest until March.

 

Many of those businesses are now reopening in a bid to re-employ some of the three million people who lost their jobs, putting workers and clients in close proximity and lending new urgency to the testing and tracing process.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...urday-1.5591739

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 May 2020 - 03:03 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Release WorkSafe review to the public

 

Re: “WorkSafe B.C. loses billions on stocks, wiping out funds for protective gear,” May 24.

 

There may be more to be concerned about than the enormous financial losses at WorkSafe B.C.

 

One can’t help but wonder if the announcement is an attempt to avoid other WorkSafe problems.

 

For more than six months, Labour Minister Harry Bains has sat on the most recent review of WorkSafe by Janet Patterson, not releasing it to the public.

 

How explosive were her findings?

 

Beyond WorkSafe’s problems, the concern is even greater as I understand the B.C. Investment Management Corp. made the investments. They invest on behalf of many pension funds.

 

Do the losses extend to the pensions of thousands of pensioners too?

 

Norm Ryder
Central Saanich

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...ting-1.24143207

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 May 2020 - 05:20 AM.

[Rob Randall]

The Toronto Stock Index continues to climb. Within a few days it could be where it was about a year ago.

 

Norm is right, we need to know what other institutions are affected. I wonder if the steep drop triggered an automatic sell-off and now there's no immediate chance of recover WorkSafe's losses. Was it ever confirmed whether the billions were "paper" losses or actual losses?

Edited by Rob Randall, 31 May 2020 - 05:37 AM.

[Mike K.]

Most people have recovered their losses and WorkSafe lost billions? That’s fishy.

Maybe they sold everything and put their money into Air Canada after reading my post.

[Rob Randall]

This is the TSE energy stock chart. More volatile than the regular TSE. If WorkSafe went all in on something like this and bailed they'd be underwater with no hope of immediate recovery.

 

 

https://www.barchart...teractive-chart

[Mike K.]

It’s one thing to bail, but bailing ought to be accompanied by a re-infusion of capital into a large basket of stocks that have bottomed out. Something went wrong to have a loss that large, and not have recovered.

Of course the next question is, does the $3.5B loss already include some recovery, and the actual loss was billions higher?

[spanky123]

The Toronto Stock Index continues to climb. Within a few days it could be where it was about a year ago.

 

Norm is right, we need to know what other institutions are affected. I wonder if the steep drop triggered an automatic sell-off and now there's no immediate chance of recover WorkSafe's losses. Was it ever confirmed whether the billions were "paper" losses or actual losses?

 

The TSX closed at 16,326 on the 28th of May or about 8% higher then it is today. Fixed income, which typically represents a good portion of retirement and pension portfolios. is still down about 15%-20% as interest rates have dropped substantially. Many investments have gone to zero as companies have declared bankruptcy.  

[Rob Randall]

I'm no financial expert but I did read David Chilton's Wealthy Barber book 30 years ago and it basically said never do what WorkSafe just did.

Edited by Rob Randall, 31 May 2020 - 10:01 AM.